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CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla.,
March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The second Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) built Space Based Infrared System (
SBIRS) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO-2) spacecraft was encapsulated into its payload fairing
March 4 in preparation for a
March 19 liftoff aboard an
Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

The satellite includes highly sophisticated scanning and staring sensors with improved infrared sensitivity and a reduction in area revisit times over the legacy constellation. The scanning sensor will provide a wide area surveillance of missile launches and natural phenomena across the earth, while the staring sensor will be used to observe smaller areas of interest with superior sensitivity.

Featuring a mix of satellites in geosynchronous orbit, hosted payloads in highly elliptical earth (HEO) orbit, and ground hardware and software, the SBIRS program delivers timely, reliable and accurate infrared surveillance information to the President of
the United States, the Secretary of Defense, combatant commanders, the intelligence community and other key decision makers.

Lockheed Martin's SBIRS contracts include four HEO payloads, four GEO satellites, and ground assets to receive, process, and disseminate the infrared mission data. The team has also begun
procuring long lead parts for the fifth and sixth GEO satellites. HEO payloads and the first GEO satellite have already launched into orbit.

Headquartered in
Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 120,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The Corporation's net sales for 2012 were
$47.2 billion.